[2] The Gems were a team mostly made up of local players and coached by Joel Mason.
[3] It started its season with an exhibition game against the Oshkosh All-Stars,[4] a 54–69 loss.
[7] The Gems, who were owned by local jewelers Maurice Winston and C. King Boring, planned to build a "sports palace" in Dearborn, which was mooted to hold 7,000-10,000 people.
But the Dearborn Forum was never built; instead, they played their home games at various locations, including Holy Redeemer gym in Detroit and Lincoln High School Gym in Ferndale.
[8] Despite this, NBL commissioner Ward "Piggy" Lambert announced in May that the Gems would return for another season; however, the franchise was put up for a sale and purchased for US$15,000 by Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen.